


Was It Worth It?

by Jjosiah98



Series: Runaway AU [1]
Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Bad Parent Stoick the Vast, Dragonese (How to Train Your Dragon), Dragons Adopt Hiccup, Dragons Leave Berk, Dragons love Hiccup, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Dragons, Hiccup leaves Berk, Other, Protective Toothless (How to Train Your Dragon), Runaway AU, but after the first movie, but not becuause he's actually bad, he just has a really bad plan, protective dragons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:20:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27877485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jjosiah98/pseuds/Jjosiah98
Summary: With one of the more aggressive Viking tribes coming for a visit to learn about the dragons, Stoick puts a plan into motion to protect his son. Too bad he didn't consider how the dragons would react.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Dragons, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III & Toothless, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Astrid Hofferson (Past)
Series: Runaway AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2051571
Comments: 14
Kudos: 184





	Was It Worth It?

**Author's Note:**

> So I know of two other stories that follow this basic plotline, but neither of them really include the dragons other than mentioning them (aside from Toothless). I figured I would make one that did include the dragons and their thoughts about it.

**"Why don't we just leave already? There isn't anything left for him here, is there?"**

**"No, there isn't. I think he knows there isn't any reason for him to stay either, but he isn't ready to let go."**

**"How can he not be ready? The Vikings clearly don't want him here anymore."**

**"I think he still has hope that things will get better, and is trying to wait until that happens."**

**"...Can he even last that long?"**

**"No. They've already hurt him so much, he can't take much more before he breaks."**

The dragons fell into silence, looking at the small human sleeping in Toothless' claws. Their human/hatchling/queen had been through so much before the war ended, and now he was going through it all over again. The only thing they wanted to know was why. Why did the Vikings suddenly decide that Hiccup wasn't worthy of their love or care? They were his people, and yet they treated him like a prisoner of war.

\---

_"I have received word from the Murderous Tribe that they will be coming in a few months to learn about our peace with the dragons, as well as possibly learning how to get dragons of their own."_

_"Those mad Vikings? Are you sure this isn't just a ruse to try and raid us?"_

_"It might be, but either way we must be prepared. We will begin building more defenses if this is a trap, and if it isn't we will begin coming up with a good way to show off the dragons."_

_"Uh, sir, shouldn't Hiccup be here then? He is the dragon expert."_

_"No. From my interactions with Murderous Chief, I know he likes to...collect rare things, and what could be rarer than a boy who can control the dragons?"_

_"But what does that have to do with Hiccup not being here?"_

_"I have a plan to make sure Hiccup is safe when the tribe arrives, and all of you must swear to follow it through until the end."_

_Slowly, the villagers agreed._

_"Good. Now, this is what we will do..."_

\---

**"Why don't we just leave anyways? He might fuss at first, but he'll understand."**

**"Because it's still his choice. We can try to convince him to leave, but we won't force anything on him."**

**"Toothless, leaving is what's best for him. If he stays here, he won't survive. The only reason he has left to keep going is us, and as his guardians it's our job to do what's best for him."**

The Night Fury knew it was the truth. Hiccup was a strong person, stronger than anyone, human or dragon, could ever hope to be. But at the same time, everyone had their limits, and Hiccup's were close to being broken. The humans of Berk have taken every reason he has to stay and live. The only thing keeping him from shutting down was them.

\---

_Toothless was looking between the stage in shock and anger, and his hatchling in worry and concern. They were in the Great Hall currently, and Toothless was the only dragon there. While any of the dragons could fit inside, most chose not to simply because of how loud or smelly it was. The only reason he did was to stay with his human, and because he could usually swipe extra food from unsuspecting Vikings._

_"Yeah! Give it up for your new leader!"_

_"You aren't leader yet, Snotlout. Just next in line."_

_"Eh, same thing."_

_Stoick, Chief of Berk and 'father' of Hiccup, had just declared that Snotlout had replaced Hiccup as his Heir. The dragon had no idea why it happened, but knew he very much wanted to burn something. He could see the hurt on Hiccup's face from the declaration. He knew the boy viewed his status as Heir as his father's unspoken trust that Hiccup would make a good Chief, and that it was so suddenly and unapologetically taken from him, for no real reason, hurt more than could be said. More so now that he was useful than it would have before the war ended, though that didn't seem to be the case anymore either._

_Silently, Hiccup turned and went to the doors, going as fast as he could to get away from here without making it obvious. The boy easily used his small size and years of experience to weave between the large burly Vikings without drawing attention while Toothless himself just roughly shoved everyone out of the way. No reason to be nice to them if they weren't going to be nice to his hatchling._

_Just as they were about to reach the doors, Astrid appeared and blocked their path, forcing Hiccup to stop. Toothless growled at her to get her to move, but she ignored him and focused on Hiccup._

_"Wow, Hiccup. What happened to make your dad decide Snotlout would be a better Heir than you?"_

_"I-I don't know. I haven't done anything wrong! Not that I know of, anyways..."_

_"Well, maybe it's for the best. I mean, a lot of people were worried about you actually being Chief."_

_Toothless could feel the hurt turning to anger in Hiccup, but the boy was forcing it down._

_"Oh, really?"_

_"Yep. But now they don't have to worry. Sure, Snotlout is as dumb as a sack of bricks, but at least he's a proper Viking."_

_Hiccup balled his fists. Normally, Toothless would intervene to calm Hiccup, since an angry Hiccup was something no one wanted, but he decided to see how this would play out first._

_"Yeah. Only 'proper Vikings' are worth anything, aren't they?"_

_Astrid was visibly put off by Hiccup's sudden cold tone, but quickly schooled her expression._

_"Yeah, I guess so."_

_"Then what am I, huh? The leftovers that you can just use when you feel like it? That you can just throw away when you don't need it anymore?"_

_She backed up as step, not bothering to hide her worry now. Hiccup's tone was cold and cutting._

_"It's not like that, Hiccup! You're just..."_

_She waved her hands at him, struggling to find a non-insulting word to use, but it was too late._

_"Why don't you run on up to him? I'm sure you'd rather date a 'proper Viking' than a runt like me."_

_With that, Hiccup shoved past her, but some other Vikings blocked him again and refused to let him pass, saying he had to be here for the 'great party' they were going to throw for Snotlout. Not wanting to deal with anything else, his boy stalked off to one of the dark and desolate corners in the hall to get away from everyone._

_Toothless, very angry on Hiccup's behalf, snarled at Astrid and the people blocking the doors before bounding off after his human._

_**"It'll be alright, Hiccup. I'm here."** _

_Hiccup nodded, but didn't look up. Crooning, he gave Hiccup a small lick on the cheek and curled around him, using his wings and body to completely hide him from view. Hiccup pressed himself into Toothless' chest as much as he could, needing the physical contact. The dragon started giving a gentle purr, telling Hiccup he would always be here for him. His hatchling started shaking slightly, trying to hold in his sobs._

_**"It's okay to cry, Hiccup. No one can see you, and I'll make sure no one gets close."** _

_And that's what they did. Hiccup let the tears flow as Toothless alternated between comforting him and growling at anyone that got too close. They were stuck inside all night as the 'party' went on, and Hiccup eventually cried himself to sleep. Toothless swore that he would never leave his human, and may the gods have mercy on anyone that tried to keep them apart._

\---

**"None of us will be losing anything if we leave, either. None of us have even let them ride us since they kicked Hiccup out of the Academy."**

\---

_The dragons were in the former Kill Ring, now the Dragon Academy. Another lesson was going to be given today by Hiccup, and he said he was going to need some volunteers to help with the demonstrations. All too eager to help the one who freed them and treated them with respect, many of the dragons were lounging around to help their little Queen._

_There was a group of humans here as well waiting for Hiccup to arrive, but the dragons were distancing themselves from them. Toothless had told them about what had happened a few days ago in the Great Hall, and all of them were irked about it, Stormfly and Hookfang especially. The Nadder had taken to ignoring her rider, refusing her attempts of bribery with fish and chicken and leaving to stay with Hiccup if the girl wouldn't leave her alone. Hookfang was simply avoiding his rider, as with Snotlout's sudden boost in status, his ego had inflated to levels the dragon refused to deal with. It was for the bulky boys safety more than anything, as Hookfang was very close to just eating him to get him to shut up._

_"Alright, everyone, lets get started."_

_Everyone turned to the speaker, who was not nearly scrawny enough to be Hiccup. Standing at the front of the group was Fishlegs, who was standing next to a few props. The Vikings settled down on the floor or anything that they could sit on and gave the large boy their attention. Once they were ready, Fishlegs got started._

_**"Uh, what is Fishlegs doing? Isn't this suppose to be Hiccup's lesson?"** _

_**"Yeah, leggy doesn't know enough about us to give a lesson yet!"** _

_**"Oh, I have a bad feeling about this..."** _

_For the next few minutes, the dragons shifted nervously, unsure of what was going to happen. If how things had been going lately was any indication, they were about to witness the next event that would break their hatchling a little more._

_Sure enough, their two Queens flew over the arena and landed outside the gate as the chain roof had yet to be removed. A moment later, they walked in, Hiccup carrying some items for the lesson. They both paused when they saw Fishlegs already talking, the villagers listening with rapt attention. Stormfly walked over to them._

_**"Hiccup was the one that was suppose to give the lesson, right? Not Fishlegs?"** _

_**"Yeah, he was..."** _

_"Fishlegs, what's going on? I was suppose to give the lesson today."_

_The large boy paused and looked at him along with the audience, who gave him reproachful and annoyed looks. Then Fishlegs started to laugh._

_"You, give us a lesson? Yeah right. How could someone as Useless as you teach us?"_

_Hiccup took a step back, shocked. The dragons just stared, and Meatlug looked like she had been slapped. They all knew that Fishlegs was a kind and timid boy, and before the war ended he was a neutral party that neither helped nor hurt Hiccup._

_"Get out of here, you don't give these lessons anymore. But don't worry, we'll call you when we're done so you can clean up."_

_The boy wasn't given the chance too, as before he could act, Toothless and Stormfly both snarled at the large boy before snatching Hiccup and running off with him. They weren't going to let their little hatchling get hurt on their watch. The villagers just watched, slightly fearful of the dragons that took so much offense on the small boy's behalf._

_Fishlegs, after getting his composure back, continued on with the lesson._

_"...so when flying, it's always good to remember to move with the dragon. It will make flying easier for both of you, and allow you to do some of the more difficult maneuvers. To demonstrate, Meatlug and I will do some basic flying maneuvers. Meatlug! Come here, girl."_

_Meatlug did nothing, simply staring at her rider. On the outside, she seemed relatively calm, but on the inside was a storm. Several emotions and thoughts were running through her, but the most prominent was a mother's anger. Hiccup was her hatchling, just as much as he was Toothless' or any other dragons, and she did not approve of how her rider just treated him._

_"Meatlug?"_

_Making up her mind, she snorted angrily at Fishlegs before storming out of the arena, intent on finding the Queens to help comfort Hiccup. One by one, all the other dragons there followed her lead, ignoring the humans and leaving. If their Queen wasn't welcome, then they didn't want to be there either._

\---

**"I kinda wanted to go back just to see their reactions to all of us leaving."**

**"I bet they were all gaping."**

**"Probably. Now budge over Toothless, I wanna hold Hiccup."**

**"He's my human, Stormfly."**

**"No, he's _our_ human. Just like he's _our_ Queen and _our_ Hatchling."**

Toothless glowered at her before giving an annoyed huff.

**"Fine, but I always get first dibs on him."**

**"Deal. Now give."**

Slowly, Toothless unwrapped himself from Hiccup. Stormfly carefully grabbed the back of his vest and pulled him over to rest against her side. The boy moaned slightly in his sleep before moving around to get comfortable. When he was settled, she draped her wing over him to keep him warm.

\---

_Hookfang was about to lose it. He was legitimately ready and willing to gut Snotlout. He would not stop demanding the dragon do something or other, and it's only gotten worse now that he refuses to let the boy ride him. It was just annoying at first, but the longer it went on, the angrier both parties got and the more force each of them used on each other. To keep anything from happening that would have negative repercussions on the dragons, and by extension Hiccup, he left._

_He was stomping through the village, uncaring if he woke anyone up, as he made his way to the Queen's house. With the arena now off limits, most dragons had taken to staying in the forest. While he could go and join them, he didn't want to have to spend all night looking for a good spot to sleep that wasn't taken, and knowing Hiccup, the boy would probably be able to help him come up with a better solution._

_When he arrived, he went around the house to the window that led into the boy's room and growled loudly. He heard a snort followed by an annoyed snarl._

_**"What do you want? We're sleeping here."** _

_**"Get up, Toothless. I need to talk to Hiccup."** _

_**"Why?"** _

_**"Just do it!"** _

_After some muffled grumbling, the sound of shifting came from the room before the quiet voice of Hiccup was heard._

_"Hmm? What is it, bud?"_

_**"Hookfang wants to talk to you."** _

_"Oh, he does? What about?"_

_**"I don't know. Just hurry up so we can get back to sleep."** _

_"Alright, alright."_

_The window swung open to reveal Hiccup with Toothless standing over him. They both looked down at Hookfang, one in confusion and the other in annoyance._

_"Hey, Hookfang. What's up?"_

_**"What's up? I'll tell you what's up! That annoying Snotkid is driving me insane! He won't stop trying to shove me around to do what he wants! I am going to kill him if he doesn't stop, so I decided to leave and now I don't know where to sleep."** _

_After ranting, he looked at Hiccup, who still looked slightly confused. He sighed internally, remembering that while Hiccup knew most of their language, he was probably speaking too fast for the boy to make out much._

_"I'm going to be honest, I didn't catch much of that, but you're obviously complaining about something. I'm guessing Snotlout?"_

_He gave an angry snort and glared in the general direction of the Jorgenson home._

_"Yeah, I thought so. Well, if you need a place to sleep, we might be able to make enough room up here for the three of us. Just need to move some things around."_

_**"What? Hiccup, no, there is no way-"** _

_"Hush, Toothless. We won't know until we try. Now come on, help me move the bed over."_

_Toothless sighed before ducking back inside. Hookfang looked in slight surprise at them. He knew the boy would come up with a solution, but hadn't expected it to be that. After a few moments of wood scraping and continued grumbling from Toothless, Hiccup looked outside again._

_"You should be able to fit through the skylight we made for Toothless."_

_Nodding, he went around to the back of the house and jumped, landing on the roof which gave a groan of protest but didn't break. Slowly, he squeezed himself inside. The frame was a bit small for him to comfortably get through, but was doable. The Queens had moved over to the corner of the room to give him enough space to get in, and once he was, they were pleasantly surprised to find there was still enough space for them to fit comfortably. Not much, but enough._

_"Good, we all fit. Now, it would probably be best for you to lay down over here, then Toothless can lay next to you, then me next to him."_

_It took a bit of effort, but they got arranged like he suggested. Hookfang was laying in the corner opposite of the door with Toothless under his wing and Hiccup in the smaller dragon's claws._

_"There we go. See? Told you it would work."_

_**"Yeah, yeah, now go to sleep."** _

_"Yes sir, mister bossy."_

_With a yawn, Hiccup snuggled into Toothless and closed his eyes, sleep quickly coming back to him. The dragon made sure he was asleep before turning to Hookfang._

_**"You could have just stayed in the forest, you know."** _

_**"Yeah, but all the good spots are already taken."** _

_**"You still could have."** _

_**"Eh. Now shut up, I've barely gotten any sleep tonight."** _

_Hookfang laid his head down and closed his eyes, much more relaxed now that he didn't have to worry about Snotlout barging in demanding things. Toothless just snorted at him before also laying down, and eventually all of them were asleep._

_Over the next few days, all the other former arena dragons wound up at the Haddock house looking for a place to sleep after having some kind of disagreement with their riders. Hiccup, knowing there wouldn't be enough room in the house for all of them, decided they could just camp out in the cove instead, which is where most of the dragons started gathering around at night, ready and willing to help protect their Queens/hatchling._

\---

**"Some more villagers just came by to try and get us to come back to the village."**

**"Really? This late at night?"**

**"Yeah. They had a bunch of fish and were trying to lead us back with it."**

**"What did you do?"**

**"Stole the fish and ignored them afterwards."**

**"Good. Did they get close to here?"**

**"Not really. There are enough of us spread out that we'll know if they head this way. The most determined one though is that blond man with the fake limbs."**

**"Gobber?"**

**"Yeah. He comes at least once a day trying to get here."**

\---

_Hiccup was walking though the small market Berk had, needing to get some more supplies for the forge. Toothless and Stormfly were with him, as well as a group of Terrors that were hanging off the three of them. They had become something like his personal protection squad, growling at anyone that tried to get close to him and hauling him off if he started getting overwhelmed by the villagers._

_That morning when he had arrived at the only job he had left in the village, Gobber wasn't there which wasn't really unusual. Instead, there had been a note with a bag of money on his workstation saying they were running low on supplies and Hiccup was the one who had to get them, which was unusual since Gobber was the one who took care of that. Hiccup had simply shrugged, figuring the man must be busy with the large project Stoick had started earlier that month._

_So here he was, slowly moving from one stall to the next to get everything on the list. As he was walking up to a corner where the last shop was, he heard two people talking rather loudly about him. As of late, that wasn't too unusual since many people would make it their mission to talk crap about him when they knew he would be able to hear them. But what made him pause was who was currently talking._

_Taking a peak, he saw it was Gobber and Hoark. His mentor was facing in his direction, but couldn't see him past the other man._

_"I'm tellin' ya, Gobber. That boy is just slowin' ya down. You could be gettin' so much more work done if you just kicked 'em out."_

_"I know. The only reason I haven't is because Stoick is the one who asked me to make him an apprentice in the first place."_

_"Well how is that stoppin' ya? Stoick don't care that his boy can't do nothin' anymore. Just kick him out and get a real Viking in there to help ya."_

_"I suppose I should. The poor lad tries so hard, but just can't seem to get it right. I don't want to hurt him, but I don't know what else to do."_

_Hiccup was shaking. Ever since this whole thing had started, Gobber had been the only one to still treat him mostly the same, aside from agreeing with everyone that Snotlout was the one who saved Berk from the Red Death. The man had never hesitated in complementing his work, or offering advice when needed. And now he was saying that was all a lie. That Hiccup wasn't as good a blacksmith as he always said. So, he did the most logical thing. Stepping out into the open, he shouted._

_"Gobber!"_

_Both men, as well as those in the area, stopped to look at him. Once he had a clear shot, Hiccup took the bag with the forge items in it, started spinning it like one would a bola, and threw it as hard as he could straight at his former mentor. The man barely caught it, looking at it then Hiccup in shock._

_"I'll save you the trouble of getting rid of me, since I QUIT! My stuff will be gone before you get back."_

_With that, he jumped on Toothless, who, along with the other dragons, snarled at the man before taking off for the forge. Once Hiccup was inside, he grabbed a basket and started angrily throwing things inside, barely registering that he was crying all the while. It didn't take too long to pack his things, as he didn't have much here that was his aside from his designs and various projects, and soon he was back on Toothless and flying to the cove._

_If he had looked back, he would have seen Gobber rush up the path, just a moment too late at catching him. The man stopped, looking at the retreating form sadly before walking inside and closing the forge down, cursing himself and Stoick for what they were putting the boy through._

\---

When morning came and Hiccup woke up, they slowly made their way into the village. Hiccup really didn't know what he was doing here, as he had nothing left to do. He was no longer Heir, which meant no Chiefing lessons. He was no longer the dragon expert, which meant no lessons at the Academy. And now he was no longer a blacksmith, which meant no work to be done at the forge.

On the way here, the dragons had been telling him that they should just leave. Run away and find a new place to live. Hiccup would be lying if he said that didn't sound wonderful. There was nothing left for him here anymore. The village hated him, he had no way to contribute to the welfare of the village. But he also wanted the peace to last. While the village was making his life miserable, they were treating the dragons kindly. If he and all the dragons just up and left, that peace might break and would just send everyone back into the old ways of fighting everything they see.

So long as the dragons stayed, there would be an example of peace being possible between Vikings and dragons, though that was steadily declining as the dragons became more hostile over the villages treatment of him.

As they walked into the plaza, he spotted Stoick marching up to him with a stern look that was almost a scowl.

"Hiccup, where have you been?"

Before Hiccup could answer, Stoick kept talking.

"And what's this I hear about you quitting your job at the forge?"

"I-"

"And would you happen to know why the dragons are acting so violently towards their masters?"

"They aren't-"

"No. This ends now. You will be doing heavy labor from now on to make sure you're still worth something to this tribe, and you will not have any of the dragons around to help you."

Before they could react, several people charged out of and around buildings. They made quick work of separating Hiccup and Toothless from the other dragons, forming a tight wall around them so they couldn't just jump or fly over. Then Stoick and a smaller group that consisted of the largest Vikings on the island did something Hiccup never thought possible.

They started taking Toothless from him.

He screamed, trying to stop them, but then hands were grabbing him and pulling him back, stopping him from helping the only one that mattered.

"Stop fighting, Hiccup! This is for your own good!"

Astrid. Astrid was keeping him from his other half, along with the other teens while Stoick and his group were taking Toothless away, likely to be locked up at the arena. He heard shouting, from human and dragon alike, but his focus was on Toothless, who was furiously struggling to get back to his hatchling.

Things came to a crashing clarity for Hiccup. Everything vanished except for three things. The first was his other half, pushing and growling and fighting. The second was the large man with a red beard taking him away. The third was a blond girl keeping him from both. He saw red.

With a roar that would make any dragon proud, he ripped his arms free from Astrid and Snotlout, elbowing the twins in the jaw to get them to let go in the same move. Fishlegs was forced back by this, and Hiccup used the opportunity to shove Astrid aside, making her spin around to grab her axe.

With another roar, he charged forwards, staring at no one but the man taking his dragon away. Then, with axe in hand, he reared back threw it hard and with deadly accuracy. Had he not dove out of the way, it would have struck him right in the center of his chest.

Toothless, using the distraction, quickly broke free of the other men and bolted straight for Hiccup. With perfect tandem, Toothless slid under Hiccup as the boy jumped, landing and latching himself to the saddle. Within a second, they were in the air and flying away, roaring at the other dragons to follow. Soon, the entire flock of former Berkian dragons were in the air, flying off to the north. They had no destination in mind, they were simply getting their hatchling as far from that horrible place as possible.

\- - - -

"Well, Stoick, you got what you wanted."

The entire tribe was gathered, watching as the dragons turned into specks on the horizon.

"The Murderous Tribe can't get Hiccup if he isn't even here."

Gobber turned to look the man in the eye.

"Was it worth it?"

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know if there are any other tags I should put on this, and I do already have a sequel planned.


End file.
